May is Mental Health Awareness

The mind is a beautiful thing, yet many people struggle with the health of it approximately 1 in 4 Americans suffer from various mental illnesses. Many doctors will just write up a prescription for an antidepressant, while never looking at the underlying cause of depression. There are a few common health conditions that can leave one feeling blue.

Hypothyroidism is often overlooked, due to inefficient test evaluations, and one of the many symptoms is feelings of depression. Low levels of folic acid or having a genetic defect that requires your body get the active vitamin form of folate is another potential cause for some mental disorders. Hormones that are both in men and women, cortisol can also be part of the mental madness if they aren't in proper levels throughout the day.

Find a Naturopathic or Integrative Doctor in your area and ask for:

1. Full Thyroid Panel: TSH, Free T3 and Free T4. This will give a more accurate picture at how much hormones your thyroid is actually producing. There are additionally thyroid tests available, but this is a good start.

2. 5-MTHFR deficiency: An acronym for 5- Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Mutations, C677T and A1298C. If someone tests positive for one of these mutations their body requires folate in the form of 5MTHF. This can be

3. Salivary Hormone Panel: This form of testing is thought to be a superior way of measuring the free bio-available forms of hormones in our body. In additional to cortisol, female and male sex hormones can be tested to see if there are proper levels of estrogen which is important for serotonin and other neurotransmitters. Progesterone another hormone helps promote restorative sleep, a must for a good mood! Low levels of Testosterone can affect men with a low mood too.